Have your children ever had a writer in school?

[UnquietDad]

Did your child find it worthwhile?
if they did - please tell the head/G&T person over and over and bang on about how much they got out of it.

I think I may have talked about this last year, before I did it. Very successfully became part of a small team last year, doing Writing In Schools sessions with Y5. The kids loved it and did some great writing.

The school paid out of its G&T budget although we didn't exclusively always work with G&T. The Children's & Young People's Directorate of the LA helped us out with admin and getting schools involved. This year, they have not, so it's been up to us to contact the schools we want to work with, including those we have worked with before. I'm currently feeling like a double-glazing salesman and it's all going down like a cup of cold vomit.

I emailed 4 schools and have been making follow-up phone calls this week.

School A's G&T person wasn't there but I left my number and asked for a call back.

School B said straight away that they couldn't afford it. But budget comes in April so they will let me know if there is a change. Rrrright...

School C responded as if I were speaking in Serbo-Croat and their secretary seemed to display excessive dimness, not having any recollection at all of my email. I have sent the info again.

School D's secretary was a dragon - very short with me and said "if it came through I would have sent it to the relevant person." She VERY grudgingly acceded to my request for the head to get back to me.

What is it with these people??!

Might be worth approaching the Royal Literary Fund, UQD? I know they had a program of putting writers in universities to work with students on their writing.

Here.

There is rarely anything in the contract obliging you to do promo stuff. Publishers will try to get away with the minimum payment while getting the maximum out of you!

UQD- Are you a 'children's' writer? Have you a site I can visit?

frogs - thanks for that, am already in touch with RLF.

mimizan - my published stuff is all adult fiction/non-fiction (I mean for grown-ups, not "adult" in the post-watershed sense!), but I've done loads of school/on location workshops and I'm working on a children's book series right now. (I'm keen to get working in that area and my agent is working on it...) If you are able to CAT me I'll send you all my details.

I am not registered to CAT yet, but will do so this evening.

If you'd rather have someone whose published work is focused on children's writing already, which I can understand, then the SoA would again be your best port of call.

Twiglett/Mrspink27 - that is my ex-boyfriend!

We've had about 5 able writers' sessions, as well as visits from poets, but the literacy co-ordinator who organised them has just left for another school. It would probably be the literacy co-ordinator you'd want to contact,as thay are usually the ones who have control of the budget...

Thing is we do get quite a few emails from people wanting to do this sort of thing - I think our teacher used to get his through a particular agency.

Pity you live where you do, or I'd suggest you to the head (we haven't actually appointed a new lit. co-ordinator yet)don't suppose you'd want to come as far as Wokingham though...

Frogs - re promo v workshops - I have worked alongside a writer in residence in a school (Adrian Mitchell, as it happens), and I think there is a huge benefit in writers actually working with the children and facilitating them - and if it is done properly then teachers gain extra skills as well - through accompanying INSET etc. IME the best of these writers (and other artists) don't teach, but facilitate, and come up with excercises and strategies and ideas that come from them as artists. It is a powerful addition to the skills of teachers, and imo irreplacable. And actually, not knowing the children can be an advantage 9although you get to know them pretty quickly). I can't count the number of times a teacher has exclaimed over the sudden breakthrough for a child who has previously been reticent, or unruly, at the arrival of an outside theatre team running drama project.

The Arts Council and other bodies run course for practising artists to learn to translate what they do into a creative meaningful workshop - you don't just get some bumbling bloke with writers block showing how his typewriter works!

And I was lucky enough to have Edward Bond as resident writer when i was at University - the woprk we did directly with him, developing our own theatre skills, was different, and complementary to the skills of the department teaching staff. It's the same for children. It's a fantastic boost to actually work together with a professional artist on a project.

Agree that coming to the children "fresh" is a great advantage. They will often try to write things for a visiting writer which they wouldn't for the teacher. No disrespect to teacher, but pupil can associate them with "work" and won't have same barriers with a visitor.
(LOL at bumbling bloke with writers block showing how his typewriter works - I think I've met him!)

UD - dd's school has had writers visit - a poet, playwright, storyteller etc. I think it usually coincides with Book Week and/or Literacy Week (not sure if they are 2 separate events tbh)

I believe the PTA partly funds this in our school so the Chair might be another point of contact (or would that not be good etiquette?)

Wouldn't it better for parents to approach the Literacy Co-ordinator or HT rather than the G&T bod though?

In my boys' school they've had a poet every other year who does workshops with every class (14 classes in the school) plus performances whilst in school full time for 4 or 5 days!

But he's not coming, so they're looking into the possibility of getting an author instead.

I'm actually just arranging for an author to come in and do some creative writing workshops in our school (secondary), but it's not anyone famous. We're paying £50/hr.

One of our difficulties is location (SW Cumbria) - I've no problem with the fees, but it's a long way from anywhere for someone to come and/or expensive to pay their travel/accommodation expenses.

HUGELY jealous of your school Frogs - that's amazing!

There must be local people though, Roisin? Surely Lakeland is full of authors and poets?

Actually, I've seen the prices in the estate agents' windows (and in Booths). So forget that...

(I know someone who teaches at Ulverston Victoria! You're not there, are you?)

we are very lucky to have an annual literature festival in our town and as our primary is a new build a lot of the events are held there

I kid you not UQD I have said to folk a couple of years running that my dc's get more out of the childrens weekend at the festival than out of the rest of the school year

the downside is that john Cunliffe he of postman Pat fame lives in our down so gets raked up every year!! No - I jest even he has something to offer..the kids are enthralled - some of the authors are soo inspiring i love it

PTA have funded this in our school as well. But the request for funding has come from the staff, and it has all been organised by the school.

We did get one of them back to open the PTA summer fete as well, and we wouldn't have paid for that, but it did put him in our good books for the future (note to UQD ).

We have had Anthony Horowitz Michael morpurgo jaqueline wilson ( sooo good actually and i was a sceptic) but sometimes its the little known authors who entrall and inspire the youngtsers

story writng workshops etc story telling through indian dance

worth 100 hours chalk and talk imo

'Anthony Horowitz Michael morpurgo jaqueline wilson'- is this state sector? amazing!

UQD - No I'm not at UVHS - thank God. They've just failed an Ofsted: we narrowly escaped ours, fortunately!

I only know of one 'real' published author and one serious poet in Cumbria. If you know of others, please let me know.

I've got a bookshop manager coming to speak to our Reading Clubs next week. I asked CGP if someone could come and talk to them about publishing, but they said no!

Another thing though too - in this day and age this sort of thing takes a lot of organisation. I have spent hours already planning two visits by two different people - liaising with different departments, writing to parents, talking to people involved, arranging necessary cover, reminding students, booking rooms, etc. etc.

Just realised my friend actually left UVHS last year and now works at... somewhere else. Whose name I have forgotten. Duh. It's one that did really well unexpectedly - after being on about 15% it went up to 70-odd.

Can't be local then? I don't know anywhere round her that's had results like that!
4 out of 8 local secondaries are in special measures

Maybe I'm wrong on the detail... I got he feeling they'd had a big jump one year though.

Just looked up on BBC site to jog memory - it's Dowdales.

D sch. just had a fantastic Ofsted - best Ofsted report I've ever read (and I've read loads).
Grade 1 (outstanding) overall, and in every category, and in every single sub-category.

Well done to your mate: Staff who survive there allegedly work extremely hard and deserve immense praise for their achievements.

Unfortunately unlikely to be a space there for ds1 in September, so we're saving up for independent school!

I see. It's "sought-after", then, I take it!

I've never heard of such a good Ofsted before, I must admit.